Sep 8

 

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FYI: Any Blue text is a link. Click to check it out!

Sep 8, 2020  Week: 37  Day:   252                   Local:   H 88° \ L 52° \ Average Sky Cover: 20%

Wind:   mph\Gusts:  mph                                  Nearest lightning:  563mi.; active fire:  322mi. 

Extreme Risk of Fire                                        Visibility:  10mi

Record: 88°[1977]   Record: 33°[1935]                  Sep Averages: 74°\42° (5 days with rain)

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Today’s  Quote

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity."

-Amelia Earhart

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Random Tidbits

 The first Labor Day occurred on September 5, 1882 in New York City.

Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day an official holiday in 1887.

The holiday’s origins stem back to the 1800s when the average American worked 12-hours a day, 7-days a week. Children ages 5-6 worked in factories and mines.

People avoided wearing white clothing after Labor Day as it unofficially marked the end of summer.

Labor Day began in Toronto, Canada in 1872 but quickly made its way to the United States.

Labor Day began as a demonstration for worker’s rights but is modernly seen as an opportunity to celebrate the last day of summer.

In other countries, May 1st (May Day) is the day working people are honored. The majority of Europe celebrates May Day.

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A little humor

"Disorder in the Court" True statements from court records

 

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?

WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.

ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?

WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.

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True Things

 A Wisconsin man proved his devotion as a friend by making good on a 28-year-old handshake promise and splitting his $22 million Powerball jackpot with his longtime buddy.

Thomas Cook told Wisconsin Lottery officials that learning the Powerball ticket he bought from Synergy Coop in Menomonie was a $22 million winner made him quickly recall a deal he made with friend Joseph Feeney in 1992.

Cook said the two men shook hands and agreed that if either of them ever won a Powerball jackpot, they would split the winnings.

"He called me and I said 'are you jerking my bobber?'" Feeney recalled of being told the news.

Cook and Feeney, who took the lump sum option for their payouts, each received about $5.7 million after federal and state taxes.

Cook said the money inspired him to put in his two weeks notice and retire. He and Feeney, who had already retired previously, said the money will allow them to spend more time with their families.

"We can pursue what we feel comfortable with," Cook said. "I can't think of a better way to retire."

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Observations This Week

US Open Tennis Championships: Thru 9/13
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: 4-8 Link 
International Air Ambulance Week: 5-13  Link
Substitute Teacher Appreciation Week: 6-12 
Suicide Prevention Week: 6-12 
National Waffle Week: 6-12 
National Payroll Week: 7-11 
Play Days: 8-12 

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Observations for Today

Another Look Unlimited Day 
Ants On A Log Day  Link 
Iguana Awareness Day Link
International Literacy Day
Miss America Pageant
Natonal Ampersand Day Link
National Date Nut Bread Day

Pardon Day Link
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day Link
Pet Rock Day Link  Cancelled due to COVID-19
Virgin Mary Day (birthday)
World Physical Therapy Day Link

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My Rambling Thoughts

A smoky/hazy day here in Flagstaff, they say it is from the CA fires. Friends in CO are having smoke issues because of the massive fires destroying forests. Today I saw pictures from Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park. I’ve been on that road many times. It was devastating to see the damage. One of the old neighbors from Wheat Ridge moved to Red Feather Lakes decades ago. Just heard from them, they are fine. Lots of smoke, but the fire is heading away from them.

As if the smoke and COVID isn’t bad enough, Denver set a high temperature record at 101, Flagstaff set a record at 91.

Since I can’t be out too much, no friends to join me for a Labor Day meal, I did some reading. In my teenage years, the birthday restaurant was Buckhorn Exchange in Denver. After eating Rocky Mountain Oysters at my uncle’s ranch, I was excited to see them on their menu. They were very good. I just learned that Buckhorn Exchange opened in 1893, making it the oldest restaurant still open in Colorado. Very cool. Worth a visit.

AIA [Arizona Interscholastic Assoc.] announced last week that fall sports could begin practice on Sep. 7. Flag High, one of our two high schools, had practice at one minute past midnight on the 7^th. Video of the practice showed some very enthusiastic athletes.

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Today’s Puzzle

Answer at the bottom of the page

What drink is made from the following letters: H I J K L M N O?

bonus

I take what you receive and surrender it all by waving my flag.

What am I?

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Historical Events

1504 – Michelangelo’s David was unveiled in Piazza Della Signoria in Florence.

1860 – The steamship Lady Elgin sank in Lake Michigan, killing nearly 300.

1892 – The Pledge of Allegiance was first published by the Youth’s Companion Magazine – “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

1921 – 16-year-old Margaret Gorman won the Atlantic City Pageant’s Golden Mermaid trophy. Pageant officials later called her the first Miss America.

1930 – “Blondie” newspaper comic strip debuted.

1930 – 3M (formerly the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company) began marketing Scotch transparent tape.

1935 – US Senator from Louisiana, Huey Long was fatally shot in the Louisiana State Capitol building by Carl Austin Weiss, Jr.

1954 – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was established.

1956 – Harry Belafonte’s album “Calypso” featuring The Banana Boat Song was the #1 album, according to Billboard, and stayed #1 for 31 weeks, become the first documented million-seller album.

1966 – Tarzan and Star Trek both debuted on NBC. That Girl debuted on ABC.

1974 – US President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for any crimes that then-President Nixon may have committed while in office.

1975 – US Air Force Tech Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, appeared in his Air Force uniform on the cover of Time magazine with the headline “I Am A Homosexual”. He was given a general discharge, which was later upgraded to honorable.

1986 – Oprah Winfrey’s show became nationally syndicated.

1988 – Yellowstone National Park was closed due to ongoing summer fires.

2004 – The NASA unmanned spacecraft Genesis crash-landed on Mars when its parachute failed to open.

2015 Pope Francis announces moves to streamline the annulment process within the Catholic Church

2016 Giraffe DNA study published in "Current Biology" reveals there are 4 species not just 1, as previously assumed

2019 Estimated 1 million attend a mass held by Pope Francis near Antananarivo, Madagascar

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Birthdays Today

@91 – Sid Caesar, American comedic actor (died in 2014)

79 – Bernie Sanders, American politician

66 – Ruby Bridges, American civil rights activist

@64 – Antonín Dvorák, Czech composer and academic (d. 1904)

@54 – Peter Sellers, English comedic actor (d. 1980; heart attack)

49 – David Arquette, actor

41 – Pink (Alecia Beth Moore), American singer-songwriter

39 – Jonathan Taylor Thomas, actor, director

33 – Wiz Khalifa [Cameron Jibril Thomaz], Haitian rapper

@30 – Patsy Cline, American singer-songwriter (died in 1963)

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Puzzle Answer

Water (The letters go from H to O, making H2O)

bonus

Mailbox

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